What do you want to know about German history?

Freodin · May 5, 2004

Northern Christian said:
Does the government operate out of Berlin or Bonn?

Berlin.

Bonn was capital and seat of the government before the reunification, but after that the politicians felt that this small provincial village was not up to representing the new Germany.

The transfer of government costed us another few billions - unneeded as many think.
My personal opinion: if they had wanted a representative new capital, they should have choosen Frankfurt/Main. Or stayed at Bonn. I liked Bonn.

Billnew · May 5, 2004

Freodin said:
All of history is full of "really interesting facts", so I would not know where to start.
I started this post because I find it sad that many people, especially in the US, reduce Germany to "Hitler" and "militarism".
Of course the Third Reich is an important part of our history, but not the only one. All that came before is important in order to show why that could happen, and it is important in its own right.

I am of German heritage, so I am not the average American.
But I love the history of all of Europe, have served in Germany pre-reunion.
I could not get enough of the castles, and even the ruins of castles.

I hope the world has figured out any country could be a Nazi Germany if you don't watch your leaders. (I personally believe Saddam was trying)

ReUsAbLePhEoNiX · May 11, 2004

whats modern german society like compared to my USA?
high prison population?
high crime?
gun control?
violent media?
sex crime?
class and race seperation?
religous/secular culture?
socialized medical care?
by the way, my father, an antique dealer, owns Herman Georings rings, a few rare nazi victory rings, boxes of other stuff, a pistol hitler gave to his general. If I searched thru his closet, I am sure I would find a white robe with a pointed hood.

Real Corona · May 11, 2004

How does Olaf Kolzig, a man born in South Africa. Get to play on the German National Hockey team?

Real Corona · May 11, 2004

What was Kaiser Wilhem's position on WWII.

I know he died in Holland around 1941 so I bet he thought Germany was doing pretty well.

oldrooster · May 12, 2004

He tried to telegram Hitler to congratulate him on his victory, Hitler ignored him.

Tini · May 12, 2004

Real Corona said:
How does Olaf Kolzig, a man born in South Africa. Get to play on the German National Hockey team?

Each sporting code has their own rules about national representation. Just like Sean Dundee (also S African) playing soccer for Germany (although I dont think he ever made the team.

A whole bunch of SA; Aussie; New Zealeanders playing rugby for the US Eagles; Tiaan Strauus - A Springbok rugger - also playing for Aus - Keppler Wessels playing cricket for both SA & Aus -John Allen playing rugger for Scotland & SA - and I'm sure there are many more.

mindfull · Jun 16, 2004

Germans are not up to their ideas !

---mindfull

oldrooster · Jun 19, 2004

No nation is....

pieman3141 · Jun 19, 2004

Ancient German history - Pre-Roman Invasion era (up to 476-ish)
Pre-Crusade history (476-1066-ish)

I also like learning about Russian history, like.. pre-Mongol Invasion stuff

And English history.. pre-Norman.

Basically, any history that happened before a big modification to a culture. Pre-Xia-dynasty in China, before emperors were succeeded by sons (they were elected by elders).

And I can tackle the language question a bit more...

English and Frisian (a DUTCH dialect near the coast) are very closely related. I'm too lazy to find conjugates and such... but.. yeah... why though?

After the Romans retreated from Britain in around 400AD, they left behind Romanized Celts, and Picts/Scots/Irish. These Celts formed little kingdoms (hey, Ireland had 4-5 kingdoms). However, to the east, a bunch of people began moving. Saxons from Gotland, near Sweden (the word Goth I believe has origins in this), Angles from modern-day Netherlands, and Jutes from Denmark all moved to England. This is where the whole story of Beowulf, and King Arthur, come in. Beowulf was about the Gotlanders (Saxons, not from Saxony though). Arthur was about the Romanized Celts (Arthur was a Romano-Celt). So you have a bunch of fighting in where modern-day England is. Eventually, the Celts moved to Wales or Brittany where they carved out kingdoms. In England, you had your Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. This is where modern English came from. Old English is from the languages of the Angles and the Saxons. The word "good" sounds like the German word "gut" which means good. Essentially, the ancestors of modern English were from Germany and Sweden and Netherlands.

More interesting facts: The middle of England was a Viking kingdom until the Normans came about.

English sounds different than other Germanic languages because of its isolated position, and its earlier branching off from the main Germanic tongues.

The reason why English has Latin and French words is because of Norman invasions (which brought French into mainstream) and Christianity (the Roman Church) which had Latin words. The words "cow" and "beef" are examples. Beef is from a word which evolved into the modern French word "boeuf" which essentially means "cow". We eat beef, but we raise cows. We eat poultry but we raise chickens (poulet). Strangely, we also say "we're having chicken". I guess chickens were less popular in Normandy...

mindlight · Jun 19, 2004

ReUsAbLePhEoNiX said:
high prison population?
high crime?
gun control?
violent media?
sex crime?
class and race seperation?
religous/secular culture?
socialized medical care?

Since I have experience of both cultures and many of these are about stats I'll have a go at this one

America has more than 2 million people in jail which is a much higher % than germany.

Violent crime is higher in the USA and especially in inner cities. I believe Property crime is lower in USA.

German gun control is a lot tighter than in USA and there are fewer guns.

With satellite TV and DVDs one can watch anything anywhere. German mainstream TV is less violent in my view than American TV as a whole - but they show a lot of dubbed American action stuff also.

Germans are much more liberal than Americans about nudity and sex generally - but there is little porn on mainstream TV. You will see a crowd of naked people waiting outside a sports shop in response to a publicity offer or a hundred naked people making art but that will not necessarily be interpreted sexually as it woudl in USA. The American porn industry is more developed against the background of a more puritanical mainstream. I think America is more extremely divided but that Germany has its perverts too.

There are tensions between germans and Turks but Germans do not like to discuss them and do not seriously consider the racist voices raised by neo nazis for instance nor look to them for solutions. Race is still a live issue in USA also though with Al Qaida I think Middle easterners have become targets more than Hispanics or Blacks. There is less disparity between rich and poor in Germany although german has its own class of the super rich - billionaires club.

Germany is in practice a lot more secular than America and this is getting worse

Germanys health care is amongst the best in the world and is mainly provided by the state and even though germans moan at its expense it is a lot cheaper than the American system which does not provide comprehensive care for all Americans. If your rich and have good health insurance - America is better - if you are an average joe who falls on bad times then germany is better.

cartridge · Jun 19, 2004

Freodin said:
... beyond the well known and discussed Nazi era?

Ask away, and I will try to provide an answer.

Explain the relevance of Minister von Manteuffel in the build upto unification in 1871. I can never understand this...

Northern Christian · Jun 19, 2004

How long did it take to rebuild Germany after World War II?

oldrooster · Jun 20, 2004

Took the Federal Republic about 10 years, the DDR never did rebuild really, much burned out even in 1990 when it ceased to exist......

pegatha · Jun 20, 2004

Can you make any generalizations about the Germans who emigrated in the early-to-mid 1700s to settle in the New World? Did they tend to go for economic opportunity, or to flee some sort of persecution? Did they predominantly come from a certain part of Germany?

Freodin · Jun 26, 2004

cartridge said:
Explain the relevance of Minister von Manteuffel in the build upto unification in 1871. I can never understand this...

Could you explain a little further what you are looking for, and who you are referring to?

The only Manteuffel I know from this era was Edwin, Freiherr von Manteuffel, who was a Prussian General. Is that the one?

Freodin · Jun 26, 2004

Northern Christian said:
How long did it take to rebuild Germany after World War II?

Western Germany gained from the Marshall Plan, while Eastern Germany was systematically plundered by the Soviets (I won´t debate whether that was justified or not).

That was the main reason it took Western Germany ten years on the average, and the East almost thirty.

And, yes, the GDR did rebuild. It wasn´t only the inability of the rest of the Eastern Block that made the GDR the most productive state in the Warsaw Pact.

Freodin · Jun 26, 2004

pegatha said:
Can you make any generalizations about the Germans who emigrated in the early-to-mid 1700s to settle in the New World? Did they tend to go for economic opportunity, or to flee some sort of persecution? Did they predominantly come from a certain part of Germany?

Most went for economical reasons. The rules of inheritence made it difficult to impossible for many to build an existence in agriculture. The artisans were still governed by Guild Law, so it was difficult to make a living from that. And industrial work was not enough yet to provide jobs for everyone.

Religious or political persecution played only a little part in that - ther German states were religiously divers, so that every denomination would find a place somewhere (See the example of the Hugenotts finding refuge in Prussia.) and in some regions - again the example of Eastern Prussia - there was enough need for people so that the rulers gave potential settlers a lot of rights and autonomy.

cartridge · Jun 26, 2004

Freodin said:
Could you explain a little further what you are looking for, and who you are referring to?

The only Manteuffel I know from this era was Edwin, Freiherr von Manteuffel, who was a Prussian General. Is that the one?

Manteuffel was Prussian cheif minister in the 1850's, and was in office when the Erfurt union and the Olmitz (sp) agreements were made, both wich were disaters for Prussia.

Freodin · Jun 27, 2004

cartridge said:
Manteuffel was Prussian cheif minister in the 1850's, and was in office when the Erfurt union and the Olmitz (sp) agreements were made, both wich were disaters for Prussia.

Thanks - now I found him. That would be Otto Theodor Freiherr von Manteuffel - a cousin of the one I mentioned.

Manteuffel was Minister for Internal Affairs and commsionary Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time of the Olmütz Konvention. (Nov.1850)

He was one of the politicians who proposed the "small" solution for German unification - a Germany without Austria, under Prussian leadership. The Erfurt Union sought to establish that.

But Prussia had been unable to succed in getting the support of the other German states. The Erfurt parliament was a failure, and pressure from Austria and the other European powers - especially Russia - left little options except for war.

Prussia in 1850 was neither willing nor ready to go to war. Friedrich Wilhelm IV would not heed such an advice, and the Prussian military was in the middle of a major reform. Austria, on the other hand, was the leading military power at that time, as the revolts in Italy seemed to show that.

So the only option left was to back up. Manteuffel did what he had to do.

That the war prevented at Olmütz broke out 16 years later had three major reasons. First, the reorganisation of the Prussian military was complete. Second, the Italian War had shown that the Austrian miliary was not as strong as thought. And third, the rise of a politician who was able to prevent the European powers from intervening: Bismarck.

What do you want to know about German history?

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